Celtics-Jazz Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLDPosted Feb 25 2013 1:38AM

The Boston Celtics have found ways to win despite their struggles on the boards, but that hasn't been the case during their current road trip.

Stopping that trend doesn't figure to be easy against the Utah Jazz, who held a sizable rebounding advantage in the first meeting.

The Jazz will try to make it 13 wins in 15 home games on Monday night when they take on a slumping Boston team that looks to salvage the finale of its five-game trip.

While the Celtics (29-27) ran off a season-best seven straight victories after star point guard Rajon Rondo went down with a torn ACL on Jan. 25, six of those wins came at home. That streak ended with a 94-91 loss at Charlotte on Feb. 11 and they have dropped four of five on the road following Sunday's 92-86 defeat at Portland.

"It was one of those 'my bad' games," coach Doc Rivers said. "We just had so many of those 'My faults' where we lost sight of guys. We didn't finish any quarter right."

Now Rivers' club looks to end the trip with its fifth straight win against the Jazz, who have only lost twice at home since the start of 2013.

The Celtics have a winning record despite ranking near the bottom of the NBA in rebounding margin (minus-3.9), and pulled out a 98-93 victory over Utah on Nov. 14 despite getting outrebounded by 15.

Boston, however, hasn't been able to overcome its shortcomings on the glass lately. The Celtics have been outrebounded by 32 in the three losses during their current road swing, but held a 45-40 edge against Phoenix in their only win.

Utah (31-25), meanwhile, has a plus-2.4 rebounding margin while winning 12 of 14 in Salt Lake City since Jan. 2.

Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap combined for 33 points and 26 rebounds in the first meeting against the Celtics, but had 35 and six, respectively, in a 107-94 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The Jazz were outscored 36-20 in the third quarter as their three-game winning streak ended.

"We gave them too many easy shots and turned the ball over too many times, and you can't give teams that confidence in the third quarter," Jefferson said.

Gordon Hayward has totaled 40 points in two games back from a shoulder injury, including a game-high 23 on Saturday. Starters Randy Foye, Jamaal Tinsley and Marvin Williams, though, will try to bounce back after combining for no points on 0-of-9 shooting.

After making just 3 for 26 from 3-point range in their last two road games, the Jazz look to get back on track at home, where they've hit 17 of 40 in consecutive wins over Oklahoma City and Golden State. They also made 7 of 15 in the earlier meeting against the Celtics.

Boston had its own trouble from beyond the arc on Sunday, shooting 2 for 13 as the Trail Blazers stopped a seven-game losing streak.

Paul Pierce had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds after averaging 13.0 points on 33.3 percent shooting in his previous five games. He also led the way with 23 against the Jazz in November for his fourth consecutive 20-point game in this series.

Kevin Garnett returned to action following his day off against the Suns and finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.

The Celtics averaged 105.0 points in their first seven games without Rondo, but have scored 91.7 in the last six.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Pierce lifts road-weary Celtics over Jazz in OT

By LYNN DeBRUINPosted Feb 26 2013 1:24AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Boston Celtics weren't too tired after playing five games in seven days back and forth across time zones.

They had enough left to play overtime to close out a long Western road trip, beating the Utah Jazz 110-107 on Monday night.

Thirty-five-year-old Paul Pierce led Boston with 26 points, including seven straight in the extra session.

"It was huge," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Whatever that was, it was the best win of the year for me. . To go into overtime and still have enough to win."

It wasn't just the ageless Pierce. Kevin Garnett, three months shy of his 37th birthday, stood strong at the end, refusing to let Rivers sub him out by insisting, "I am good."

Rivers didn't believe that, "but I kept him in and he was terrific."

Garnett had four points in overtime on 2-of-2 shooting, with three rebounds. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, a blocked shot and steal.

The Celtics also got a big game from Avery Bradley, who scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Pierce had a chance to win it in regulation, but his 19-footer at the buzzer rimmed out.

Alec Burks' reverse layup pulled Utah to 108-105 with 37 seconds left in overtime. Garnett's banked 3-pointer with 13 seconds left came after the shot clock expired, giving the Jazz another chance.

Paul Millsap was fouled before he could get off a 3, but made two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining.

Courtney Lee added two free throws at the other end with 1.2 seconds left to bump Boston's lead back to three, and Randy Foye's 26-footer at the buzzer missed everything.

It was another one the Jazz let get away, though Monday's game had huge swings both ways from start to finish.

Overall, the game had 13 lead changes and was tied 17 times.

"We were in position," said Jazz forward Marvin Williams. "We fought back in the fourth quarter to force overtime but Boston just made big plays down the stretch."

Gordon Hayward led Utah with 26 points, Millsap had 16 and Al Jefferson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Celtics (30-27) were playing their fifth game in seven days, but didn't seem to care down the stretch.

The Jazz (31-26) led 101-99 in overtime on DeMarre Carroll's 21-footer, but Pierce countered with a 3-pointer, then followed with a pull-up jumper over Carroll and a 15-footer to give the Celtics a 106-101 edge with 1:12 left.

Jefferson hit a 15-footer with 1:05 left to get Utah within 106-103, but Garnett's jumper helped seal it.

"We knew this was probably going to be the toughest game for us physically and mentally," Pierce said. "Talking about a long road trip, coming in to one of the toughest places to play. We felt we could salvage this trip with a win here. So guys did a good job of just being mentally tough, digging in and doing what we had to do to get the win."

The Celtics, who went 2-3 on the trip, also were smart down the stretch, fouling with fouls to give and finding a wide-open Lee on the inbounds pass when the Jazz needed a late steal in overtime. His free throws provided the final margin.

The Jazz trailed by eight entering the fourth but opened on a 13-2 run.

Jefferson's 10-foot turnaround jumper over Brandon Bass tied it at 93 with 2:46 left in regulation.

Pierce hit an 18-footer with Carroll diving at him for a 97-95 Boston lead with 36 seconds remaining in regulation, only to see Burks tie it with a tough layup with 19 seconds left.

"We wanted to win in regulation," Pierce said. "It would have felt better just to get a stop when we needed it. That's what we need to get better at. We didn't do it in Portland. We didn't do it tonight. That's what we need to start focusing on. When we get the lead and we need crucial stops, we have to figure out how to get them."

The game took a 16-point swing in the third, as Boston trailed 58-50 only to counter with a 20-4 run and lead 80-72 entering the fourth.

Pierce ignited the run with a 3-pointer, Bradley hit two more 3s and Lee added a dunk after a steal and another 3-pointer. Pierce capped the run with a jumper over Hayward for a 70-62 Boston lead.

The Celtics hit 6 of 13 3-pointers in the 32-point third quarter, while Utah made just 5 of 16 from the field.

It was the same story as Saturday, when the Jazz fought back early only to see the Los Angeles Clippers go on a 23-4 run and douse any hopes.

A Jazz team that had won three straight and seven of 10 has now dropped two in a row.

While Hayward showed he is recovered from a right shoulder injury despite missing a pair of shots in overtime, the Jazz still need point guard Mo Williams back from a thumb injury.

Monday, Earl Watson started over Jamaal Tinsley, but Burks ended up playing the position during Utah's big second-quarter run.

Pierce said Boston reverted to various defenses to slow the Jazz.

"We did a lot of zone, did a lot of man and tried to force turnovers," Pierce said. "That's what we have to do. A lot of times we had to go to small because they had plenty of size and they rebound well. We just junked up the game a little bit by changing our defense."

It may have been junk, but it was a win nonetheless.

"We have champions," said guard Jason Terry, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and two assists off the bench for Boston.

"When you have champions that have been through so many tough games as we have, then you know you're in good hands. For us, we hang our hat on executing down the stretch."

NOTES; Jazz F Derrick Favors picked up his third foul with 9:06 left in the second quarter. . Jazz G Foye needed four 3-pointers to tie Mehmet Okur (129, 2006-07) for the franchise single-season record. Foye went 0-5 Saturday but hit his first Monday and finished 2 of 6. . Bradley started 5 of 5 and had 10 points in six minutes for Boston, while Millsap started 4 of 4 for Utah. . The Jazz led 53-48 at halftime.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Celtics 110, Jazz 107 OT

THE FACTS: Playing their fifth road game in seven nights and against a team that's pretty decent on its home floor, the Boston Celtics had the deck stacked against them. That's why Boston coach Doc Rivers called it their best win of the year.

Paul Pierce had 26 points and Avery Bradley scored a season-high 18 points as the Celtics overcame the Utah Jazz 110-107 in overtime on Monday night. Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 10 rebounds while doing most of his damage in the second half for Boston (30-27). He had 10 points and nine boards after halftime to help Boston to its fifth straight victory over Utah (31-26). Gordon Hayward had 26 points to lead the Jazz, who fell to 2-1 in overtime games this season.

QUOTABLE: "They got a lot of heart. It says a lot of good things. This is just a gut-check win for us. I mean, we are on fumes and hung in there, and hung in there and hung in there. It says a lot about this group."

-- Boston coach Doc Rivers

THE STAT: For the second straight game, the Jazz played terribly in the third quarter. They were outscored 32-19 by the Celtics in the third period, and then had to play catch up in the fourth quarter. Boston shot 59.1 percent while holding to Utah to 31.3 percent shooting in the third quarter. The Jazz seemingly had a shot at blowing the game open as the Celtics closed their road trip, but were flat after halftime and it cost them. Utah was outscored by the Los Angeles Clippers, 36-20, in the third quarter of a loss on Saturday night.

TURNING POINT: Pierce took over in overtime. His 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining gave the Celtics a lead they wouldn't relinquish at 102-101. He added a couple mid-range jumpers to put Boston up 106-101 with 1:12 remaining. Garnett was the only other Celtics player to score in overtime until Courtney Lee made two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining. Garnett had four points in overtime.

HOT: Pierce was streaky against Utah, and when he was at his best the Jazz couldn't stop him. He scored seven of his points as the Celtics took over in the third quarter. He made a jumper with 36.6 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Celtics a 97-95 lead. Lee was outstanding after halftime, scoring 13 of his 14 points in the second half. For the Jazz, Hayward, playing in his third game back after a 10-game absence because of a right shoulder sprain, gave the team 36 valuable minutes off the bench. He is averaging 22 points in his last three games.

NOT: It was a forgettable night for Utah's Derrick Favors. In the first half he had three fouls, two turnovers, two rebounds and zero points. He picked up his fifth foul with 5:04 left in the game. It came on offense, and was an unnecessary foul on Garnett. The Jazz were in the penalty and Garnett then sank two foul shots to put Boston up 93-91. Favors finished with seven points and six rebounds. Paul Millsap, after shooting a perfect 6-for-6 in the first half, was 1-for-6 with four points in the second half. Randy Foye shot 2-for-8 with a miss as time expired in overtime. He played just 5:22 in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "We knew this was probably going to be the toughest game for us physically and mentally, talking about a long trip, coming in to one of the toughest places to play. We felt we could kind of salvage this trip with a win here. So guys did a good job of just being mentally tough, digging in and doing what we to do to get the win.."

--Celtics forward Paul Pierce

GOOD MOVE: Bradley got the Celtics off to a great start while the rest of the team was getting their legs under them. Bradley, who came into Monday's game averaging 8.9 points per game, had 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first quarter. He simply had his way against an overmatched Earl Watson, who replaced Jamaal Tinsley in Utah's starting lineup. He also anchored Boston's defense early in the contest and helped keep the Jazz out of rhythm.

BAD MOVE: Rivers and the Celtics had all the answers for slowing the Jazz down in the second half -- even if their plans didn't work to perfection. Boston's zone defense gave Utah trouble in the third quarter. It also utilized a trap that helped junk the game up. The trap the Celtics employed in the second half wasn't what was drawn up in the locker room at halftime, but it was effective as Boston held Utah to 37.8 percent shooting after the break. The Celtics' trap helped keep the Jazz from posting -- their bread and butter -- on offense. Rivers joked that the defense was ugly, and because the Celtics didn't know what they were doing, it confused both teams.

NOTABLE: It was Boston's 10th overtime game of the season. The Celtics are 6-4 in those contests. ... Boston closed its five-game road trip with a 2-3 record. It was the Celtics' second road win against a Western Conference opponent this season. ...Tinsley did not play at all after being removed from the starting lineup. ... Al Jefferson had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for him to exorcise his demons against Boston. He was drafted 15th overall by the Celtics in 2004 and played there until 2007. Since leaving the franchise, he is 0-11 against them as a member of the Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves.